Geothermal project extends crop’s life

Haywood Community College will soon build an experimental geothermal pre-cooling facility to extend the shelf life of produce and crops in Western North Carolina.

The project, called Geothermal Chilling for WNC Farmers, will be completed with a $50,000 grant from the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

The installation will be placed at the government’s Mountain Research Station in Haywood County. Its task will be to increase the short shelf life of perishable crops by cooling them as soon as they are harvested.

To do that it will make use of geothermal chilling — a durable, low maintenance, economical and environmentally friendly technology. The technology will be on display for local farmers and offer options for use at their own locations. HCC is also offering a course on the new installation, Basics of Geothermal Technology, from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays, from Oct. 8 through Oct. 22. The cost of the class is $70.